MINNEAPOLIS Organic cotton textiles register no more than a footnote in the worlds cotton production, but Vishal Naithani wants to change that.

His company, Sustained Organic Living in suburban Minneapolis, selects certified organic cotton grown in India with non-GMO seeds. The products are made using only fair trade labor on the farms and in the factories.

The challenge for Naithani and his company, which is also known as Sol Organics, is to be able to create the level of interest among consumers for organic apparel that has been generated for organic food. For now, his chief weapon is price: He aims to price his products significantly lower than his online competitors and on par with high-quality bedding that is not fair trade organic.

Every family should have access to affordable organic cotton just like they have access to affordable organic food, he said. It shouldnt be only the wealthy who can afford premium products.

Sol Organics is one of a number of companies offering organic, fair trade textiles online or in stores. Companies such as Boll & Branch and Patagonia sell them. West Elm, Pottery Barn, and Target feature organic cotton that may or may not be fair trade. Naithani said Sol Organics is the only Minnesota-based company to do so.

Part of the reason Naithani acts as a maverick is that organic cotton hasnt grabbed the consumers attention like organic milk, produce and poultry.

Shoppers arent ingesting organic cotton as they do organic foods, so they may not see the benefit, said Mary Brett Whitfield, senior vice president at Kantar Retail, a retail consulting business. We havent trained shoppers to think about how cotton is grown or how it fits in the environmental food chain.

Conventionally grown cottons critics say the so-called fabric of our lives is a crop that requires lots of water and chemicals to grow. A pesticide-intensive crop, conventional cotton uses more than an average amount of pesticides, although the amount is in dispute.

Cotton covers 2.5 percent of the worlds cultivated land, yet growers use an estimated 10 to 25 percent of the worlds pesticides, according to Rodale Institute, a Pennsylvania organic farm and researcher. AMIS Global, an agriculture data firm, estimates the pesticide usage for cotton at closer to 5 percent, according to Cotton Inc., a U.S. trade organization.

In India, where more than 20 percent of the worlds cotton is grown, child labor is common. According to a Harris Poll conducted in 2016, three in five consumers would not purchase a cotton product if they knew it was picked by children or forced labor.

Naithani and others in the business believe that, in time, more consumers will search out organic sheets, towels and clothing. Only 5 percent of consumers purchase organic clothing, slightly higher among millennials, according to Kantar Retail.

The average price paid for a queen sheet set in the U.S. is $80, but organic cotton sets (300 thread count sateen) start at $240 at BollandBranch.com and $258 at Coyuchi.com.

At the wholesale level, organic, fair trade cotton costs only about 15 percent more than conventional cotton, Naithani said. He doubles the cost of the goods for his retail price while competitors triple the cost, he said.

The only way to get people to convert to buying organic cotton is to keep prices competitive. Costco and Wal-Mart have made organic food affordable, he said. We want to do the same for organic cotton.

At $119 for a queen set and $139 for a king set at solorganix.com (after a $40 instant savings), his prices are 30 to 50 percent less than comparable products online, but still nearly double what a conventional set costs at Kohls or J.C. Penney.

Naithani hopes to drop the price of his queen-sized set to $99 within two years, once the product reaches critical mass. Affordability is the tipping point, he said. It promotes access, which in turn creates demand and conversion to organic cotton.

Brett Whitfield sees organic cotton as early in its life cycle but poised for growth. Target and Pottery Barn recently expanded their organic textiles selection. Pottery Barns spring collections show fair trade, organic sheets and towels.

Target, which already had organic cotton sheets, clothes and baby items, added organic in its new Cat & Jack kids line. Its recent pledge to remove perfluorinated chemicals and flame retardants from textiles by 2022 shows a long-term commitment.

We know organic cotton is important to our guests, said Erika Winkels, a Target spokeswoman. It will continue to grow in the future, whether its home or apparel. Its not the be-all-end-all, but its important.

Naithani, who also sells his product on Amazon, hopes to break $1 million in annual sheet sales by next month. Thats still a fraction of the online retailer Boll & Branch, which sold about $40 million in organic fair trade sheets and towels in 2016.

Sols products are getting four- and five-star reviews online. His return rate is an enviably low 2.5 percent.

Increasing the demand for organic cotton creates this tremendous upside where everyone wins, the farmer, the consumer and the earth, he said.

See the original post:

Can organic cotton become as mainstream as organic food? - The Missoulian

Every grocery chain seeking to thrive in the modern world must provide organic kale alongside the Hot Pockets and Fritos.

That point was driven home by merger talks in recent weeks between Albertsons Cos., the second-largest U.S. supermarket chain, and Sprouts Farmers Market Inc., whose 250-odd stores are known for fresh produce and organic offerings. The preliminary discussions may not lead to a deal, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

For Albertsons, which may be beefing up ahead of an initial public offering, taking Sprouts private and adding it to the portfolio would mean a deeper push into foods that appeal to a growing segment of shoppers. Longtime staples like cereal and canned soup have struggled as health-conscious consumers pursue less-processed options.

Thats pushed organics into the mainstream, with the likes of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Kroger Co. expanding into a market long dominated by Whole Foods Market Inc. and other niche stores. Albertsons seems ready to jump deeper into the lettuce patch.

Theyre looking to add some sex appeal, said Roger Davidson, an industry consultant. A lot of their stores tend to be boring, standard supermarkets. If they dont do something, theyre going to continue to struggle.

Fresh produce is a draw to brick-and-mortar stores, even as online ordering has devoured swaths of the retail landscape. With Amazon intent on pushing into the business despite its struggles with delivering fresh food, grocers are increasingly focused on the quality of fruits and vegetables.

An Albertsons takeover of Sprouts could help convince investors that theres demand for shares of a giant U.S. grocery chain this year, Davidson said. The company, backed by Cerberus Capital Management LP, operates about 2,300 U.S. stores, including the Shaws, Safeway and Acme chains. The company almost went public in 2015 before pulling the IPO because of turbulence in the stock market. The offering has been on hold almost 18 months.

Cerberus, which manages more than $30 billion in private-equity holdings, distressed debt, credit assets and real estate, first invested in Albertsons in 2006 and then bought stores in 2013 from Supervalu Inc. Albertsons more than doubled in size in 2014 when it acquired Safeway Inc.in a deal valued at about $9.2 billion. The company has a presence on the East Coast, but its stores are mainly west of the Mississippi River. Sprouts has more than half of its outlets in California and Texas, two of the most competitive U.S. markets.

Sprouts is one of the few high-quality growth platforms remaining in grocery and a concept we believe will continue to take market share, Chris Mandeville, an analyst at Jefferies, said in a research note.

Winnie Lerner, a spokesman for Albertsons, declined to comment.

With the IPO in limbo, Albertsons has struggled to find growth. Food deflation has battered the industry over the past year, weighing down sales and prompting price wars that have eroded profit margins. Kroger, the largest U.S. grocery chain, in the fourth quarter posted negative same-store sales for the first time in more than a decade. Its shares have plunged 15 percent this year.

Albertsons faces pressure from both ends. It needs organics to appeal to more affluent customers concerned with health. But its current stores arent quite cheap enough to draw low-end customers who shop at dollar-store chains or Wal-Mart. The price war has gotten even more intense with the German chain Aldi expanding rapidly in the U.S., not to mention the planned arrival of European competitor Lidl this year.

See the article here:

Grocer looks to grow with organic foods - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette - Arkansas Online

MINNEAPOLIS | Organic cotton textiles register no more than a footnote in the worlds cotton production, but Vishal Naithani wants to change that.

His company, Sustained Organic Living in suburban Minneapolis, selects certified organic cotton grown in India with non-GMO seeds. The products are made using only fair trade labor on the farms and in the factories.

The challenge for Naithani and his company, which is known as Sol Organics, is to be able to create the level of interest among consumers for organic apparel that has been generated for organic food. For now, his chief weapon is price: He aims to price his products significantly lower than his online competitors and on par with high-quality bedding that is not fair trade organic.

Every family should have access to affordable organic cotton just like they have access to affordable organic food, he said. It shouldnt be only the wealthy who can afford premium products.

Sol Organics is one of a number of companies offering organic, fair trade textiles online or in stores. Companies such as Boll &Branch and Patagonia sell them. West Elm, Pottery Barn, and Target feature organic cotton that may or may not be fair trade. Naithani said Sol Organics is the only Minnesota-based company to do so.

Part of the reason Naithani acts as a maverick is that organic cotton hasnt grabbed the consumers attention like organic milk, produce and poultry.

Shoppers arent ingesting organic cotton as they do organic foods, so they may not see the benefit, said Mary Brett Whitfield, senior vice president at Kantar Retail, a retail consulting business. We havent trained shoppers to think about how cotton is grown or how it fits in the environmental food chain.

Conventionally grown cottons critics say the so-called fabric of our lives is a crop that requires lots of water and chemicals to grow. A pesticide-intensive crop, conventional cotton uses more than an average amount of pesticides, although the amount is in dispute.

Cotton covers 2.5 percent of the worlds cultivated land, yet growers use an estimated 10 to 25 percent of the worlds pesticides, according to Rodale Institute, a Pennsylvania organic farm and researcher. AMIS Global, an agriculture data firm, estimates the pesticide usage for cotton at closer to 5 percent, according to Cotton Inc.

In India, where more than 20 percent of the worlds cotton is grown, child labor is common. According to a Harris Poll conducted in 2016, three in five consumers would not purchase a cotton product if they knew it was picked by children or forced labor.

Naithani and others in the business believe that, in time, more consumers will search out organic sheets, towels and clothing. Only 5 percent of consumers purchase organic clothing, slightly higher among millennials, according to Kantar Retail.

At the wholesale level, organic, fair trade cotton costs only about 15 percent more than conventional cotton, Naithani said. He doubles the cost of the goods for his retail price while competitors triple the cost, he said.

The only way to get people to convert to buying organic cotton is to keep prices competitive. Costco and Wal-Mart have made organic food affordable, he said. We want to do the same for organic cotton.

At $119 for a queen set and $139 for a king set at solorganix.com (after a $40 instant savings), his prices are 30 to 50 percent less than comparable products online, but still nearly double what a conventional set costs at Kohls or J.C. Penney.

Naithani hopes to drop the price of his queen-sized set to $99 within two years, once the product reaches critical mass. Affordability is the tipping point, he said. It promotes access, which in turn creates demand and conversion to organic cotton.

Naithani, who also sells his product on Amazon, hopes to break $1 million in annual sheet sales by next month.

Thats still a fraction of the online retailer Boll &Branch, which sold about $40 million in organic fair trade sheets and towels in 2016.

Sols products are getting four- and five-star reviews online.

Increasing the demand for organic cotton creates this tremendous upside where everyone wins, the farmer, the consumer and the earth, he said.

Sustained Organic Living at a glance

Origin: Health and wellness market for 20 years; added organic sheets in 2016.

Revenue: $7 million in aromatherapy wraps and candles in 2016 and $1 million (projected in 2017) for organic bedding.

Products: Certified organic cotton, fair trade sheets, duvets, shams, and crib sheets plus warming therapy and diffusers. Coming soon: Sol Baby starter kit, flannel sheets, down and wool comforters, alpaca blankets.

Certification: Sols farms use Fair Trade USA and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). The factories use Fairtrade Labelling Organization.

Advantages/disadvantages of organic cotton: Reviewers say the cotton is softer but wrinkles a bit more. Naithani said organic cotton lasts longer.

About the company: Sol Organics

Origin: Health and wellness market for 20 years; added organic sheets in 2016.

Revenue: $7 million in aromatherapy wraps and candles in 2016 and $1 million (projected in 2017) for organic bedding.

Products: Certified organic cotton, fair trade sheets, duvets, shams, and crib sheets plus warming therapy and diffusers. Coming soon: Sol Baby starter kit, flannel sheets, down and wool comforters, alpaca blankets.

Certification: Sols farms use Fair Trade USA and Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS). The factories use Fairtrade Labelling Organization.

Advantages/disadvantages of organic cotton: Reviewers say the cotton is softer but wrinkles a bit more. Naithani said organic cotton lasts longer.

Originally posted here:

Can organic cotton become as mainstream as organic food? - St. Augustine Record

Organic Trade Association

WASHINGTON, D.C. New Nielsen findings released by the Organic Trade Association (OTA) on March 23 show things have changed in the kitchens of American households across the country, from small towns to the big cities. Organic can now be found on the shelves of kitchen cupboards and in the refrigerators of 82.3 percent of American households.

In the first comprehensive look at organic purchases by households on a state-by-state level, the nationally representative Nielsen study of 100,000 households conducted in 2015 and 2016 reported that more households than ever bought organic food on a regular basis throughout 2016. The national average climbed 3.4 percent from 2015 to 82.3 percent, while in Georgia, the number of households buying organic rose by a solid 4 percent to 81.5 percent. The state showing the biggest jump in households purchasing organic was North Dakota, where 85.6 percent of households participating in the Nielsen study reported buying organic in 2016, up a robust 14.2 percent from 2015.

These new findings show how important organic has become to millions and millions of American families everywhere to more than 80 percent of our nations 117 million households*, more than 80 percent of Georgias 3.5 million* households, more than 85 percent of North Dakotas almost 300,000 households*, said Laura Batcha, CEO and Executive Director of OTA. The organic community is looking forward to working with the new leadership at USDA. We are eager to show how important adequate funding is to support a strong organic program and to help organic to continue to become a part of healthy diets of households throughout our nation.

The Nielsen findings show a number of states in which 90 percent or more of households now buy organic on a regular basis, with even the lowest levels all hovering around 70 percent. The five states seeing the biggest increases in households reporting organic purchases were:

North Dakota, where 85.6 percent of households participating bought organic in 2016, up 14.2 percent from 2015.

Rhode Island, with 88.3 percent buying organic, up 12.3 percent from 2015.

Wyoming, where 90.0 percent of participating households bought organic in 2016, up 10.8 percent.

South Dakota, which had the lowest percentage of any state at 68.9 percent, but still recorded a 10.0 percent increase.

Wisconsin, where 77.6 percent of participating households bought organic, up 9.1 percent from 2015.

Organic provides a healthy choice for consumers everywhere, and a profitable choice for farmers, said Batcha. The industry relies on a few critical public institutions to support this burgeoning industry, including the National Organic Program for global oversight and uniform standards and research investment targeted to organic production. Organic is fueled by consumers, and it thrives when USDA recognizes the importance of organic to rural economies and to rural households.

Organic food sales in the United States now total around $40 billion annually, and account for around five percent of total food sales in this country. According to the Organic Trade Associations 2016 U.S. Organic Industry Survey, total organic food sales in 2015 were $39.7 billion, up 11 percent from the previous year. This spring OTA will be releasing its 2017 industry survey, which will look at the U.S. organic market in 2016.

The Nielsen data comes from 100,000 participating households in the 48 contiguous states that are geographically and demographically diverse to represent the national population. Participating households record with a home scanner all food purchases for in-home consumption from any retail outlet, including organic items. Participants scan the Universal Product Codes (the bar codes that cashiers scan at the supermarket) to track their purchases. Nielsen has been tracking food purchases with its home scanner household panel since 2002.

*According to the most recent U.S. Census Bureau statistics

See the rest here:

Study: Organic food in 82% of US households - Farm Forum

SMITHFIELD Its getting green again on the Tom and Linda Schwarz farm south of Smithfield, at least in the greenhouses where tiny mint and mustard plants were the first to emerge in early March from the organic soil sourced from Wisconsin dairy.

The four 30-foot wide greenhouses one is 100 feet long, two are each 72 feet long and one is 50 feet long first were used during the 2011 growing season.

They represent the latest steps in the Schwarz Family Farm transition from a traditional commodity grain, hay and livestock farm to an added-value enterprise now specializing in certified organic crops and produce. Tom said he now is planning to return cattle to the farms diverse mix of food and feed products.

Were thinking about starting some grasses for people to use in their yards, Linda added.

The family part of the six-generation farm has included daughter, Becky, as marketing director since she graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2010 and son, Alex, who was sales manager from after his Chadron State College graduation in 2008 until recently. Alex now lives and works in Kearney.

With Alex out of it, we need to figure out what we can do with one less person, Becky said.

It certainly wont be the first time the family has adapted to change.

Tom said that after he and Linda were married in 1984, he farmed with his dad, Paul Pete Schwarz. They had livestock and crops irrigated with surface water delivered by Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District and groundwater.

We were farming on a large scale, 2,500 acres irrigated, Tom said, which required hired help.

In the 1990s, his dad said it was time to scale back to what he and Tom could handle on their own. After Pete died in 1997, the acres shrunk again as the family settled the estate.

Tom said that over 10 years, they had cut the farm enterprise in half and then cut it in half again. We couldnt work in the traditional sense. We had to change our thinking, he said. All you are is lunch, in time, for those big guys unless you build a different house.

So they transitioned into the only organic farm in Gosper County.

Tom said it was a good fit with the hay grinding business they had started in the early 1980s. They now use a rotation of organic irrigated corns, soybeans, wheat and alfalfa.

Hes looking at feeding some calves with rotational grazing of annual and perennial forages under pivot irrigation.

Becky said she also has an idea for raising some pasture pigs in the future.

Weve gotta break out of this traditional mentality of this is how you farm get out of thinking about commodities and (think) about customers, Tom said about a key to the future for many ag producers.

He said farmers and ranchers need to produce the products consumers want and deliver them when they want them. If people want non-GMO, we can raise non-GMO. If they want GMO, we can grow GMOs, he added.

Tom said his family prefers to grow food-grade crops. He explained that if they cant sell food-grade corn for a premium, it still can be sold as a commodity. The oats they grow can be sold as food, seed or feed.

A huge part of earning premiums for certified organic products is keeping the detailed records required. Record keeping requirements for organic are enormous, Tom said. Thats what Linda does almost full time.

Linda said she submits an application due each March for an annual recertification. At least one inspector comes to the farm to collect crop samples to test for GMO hybrids and pesticide use.

There are trade-offs with organic production, the Schwarzes said. Chemical and fertilizer costs arent as high, but there is more labor involved.

So instead of writing a check to Monsanto, we write checks to our kids, Tom joked.

Seasonal employees are needed to tend the greenhouse plants. Linda said there were seven teens hired last summer, six from Holdrege and one from Bertrand.

There is a lot of pruning with tomatoes, she said. They also do a lot of transplanting and packaging.

Linda and Becky oversee the produce production, while Tom farms the field crops.

Like all farmers, they weigh the pros and cons of different crops each year.

Tom said the Palmer amaranth infestation in south-central Nebraska soybean fields last year was just killing us. It also is an issue for a calf feeding plan that includes roasted soybeans, which are digested farther down the digestive track than alfalfa and other feeds.

Most produce is grown in the greenhouses, although Becky grew some garlic, onions, leeks and jalapeos, and a little okra outside last year.

Linda said the smallest greenhouse has perennial herbs and overflow from the other three. Its the only one heated over the winter, she said, so its home to anything that might freeze.

The 100-foot-long greenhouse is the starter site for most plants and where sugar pea greens are grown. The two middle-size, movable greenhouses are where most tomatoes, peppers, white carrots and beets are grown.

The major market for Schwarz Family Farm produce is Hy-Vee, primarily Omaha and Lincoln area stores. Some also goes to the Grand Island and Kearney stores.

We literally call them up when we have things ready, Tom said. Some stores take a bunch and some take a little. Theres no rhyme or reason.

Becky transports most of the produce in a refrigerated delivery truck or sometimes a Toyota 4Runner with the air conditioner set on high.

I would really prefer it if we could hit the early tomato market, by the first of June, but that can be a challenge, Tom said, explaining that the best premiums are paid for produce delivered earlier or later than the big seasons for other commercial growers and home gardeners.

Most of the organic grain, which must be identity preserved, is marketed through Scoular, which has an organic division. The Schwarzes leave the wheat in their bins and Scoular picks it up there for the markets the company serves.

Tom said a lot of corn goes to a Chase, Kan., egg producer and some soybeans go to dairies that have their own soybean roasters.

Much of the organic alfalfa is sold to area conventional buyers, he said, because its hard to haul hay long distances.

Read more:

Schwarz family prepares to add cattle to diverse organic food and feed production - Kearney Hub

Dear Editor:

This is big business, literally. I am not making a judgment about the affect on the nutritional needs of the human body, but I have to question their advertised nutritional affects. That is where the big business aspect comes in to play.

Do you the consumer, realize how much extra you are paying for organic or non GMO foods? Are you aware of the truth about GMO products? Do you know that there is no scientific proof, at all, that GMO foods are harmful to the body? This rumor was started years ago and to this day nobody can provide one shred of evidence that GMOs are harmful. But on the other hand it has been proven more products can be produced on less acres, using less water, less fuel, and less herbicides to harvest and feed more people, worldwide. Now what about the benefits? This part of the equation can be answered by the retailers.

They are making a killing. Some times twice the price of non organic or GMO.

Many of the same questions can be applied to organic foods. The Food and Drug Administration has strict rules that govern the production and distribution of foods raised on our farms.

One example-Honey, how can organic honey be produced? Can that little bee, be told where he can go to get his ingredients? But the retailers do not have to prove what makes his product organic. He just ups the price, puts his label on and collects his money.

You the consumer are paying for all of this. It might be wise for you the consumer to contact our geneticists at the U of I or some of our honey producers and get their opinion.

Concerned Citizen,

John Gilliam

Lenore

Excerpt from:

Letter to the Editor: Should we be concerned about organic foods? - Clearwater Tribune

PHOENIX - Organic foods are really popularand usually expensive. But what are you really getting for the price?

Were breaking down three myths about organic food.

Myth number one: Organic foods are automatically healthier.

Not quite. Experts say there isnt a lot of evidence one way or the other about the healthfulness of organic versus conventional produce. However, registered dietician Sarah Martinelli with ASU School of Nutrition and Health Promotion says some organic meats can have a higher amount of good fat.

Myth number two: Organic and natural foods are the same.

Theyre not. Organic foods have to come from USDA certified organic farmers. They have to adhere to strict growing standards and use fewer pesticides. And higher prices for organic foods are often due to the cost of maintaining safer water and soil protection.

The natural label is much broader.

It just means nothing artificial but it doesn't address how things are produced, Martinelli said.

Myth number three: Health food stores only sell healthy food

Just because its a health-focused store like maybe Sprouts or Trader Joes or Whole Foods, it doesn't mean that every product they sell is good for you, Martinelli said.

No matter which foods you get, Martinelli says washing produce with water and friction significantly reduces pesticides.

Need my help?

Call volunteers with the Assistance League of Phoenix at 855-323-1515, email me at Joe@abc15.com or contact me on Facebook or Twitter.

Visit link:

3 myths about organic foods you need to know - ABC15 Arizona - ABC15 Arizona

Many people -- from consumers and farmers to scientists and international organizations -- believe that organic agriculture can produce enough nutritious food to feed the world without destroying the environment, while being more resilient to climate change and improving the livelihoods of farmers.

We discovered that organic farming does matter -- just not in the way most people think.

Compared to a neighboring conventional farm, an organic farm at first appears to be better for the environment. But that's not the whole story. Here's how it breaks down.

What's good: Organic farms provide higher biodiversity, hosting more bees, birds and butterflies. They also have higher soil and water quality and emit fewer greenhouse gases.

The jury's still out on whether the consumer is better off, too.

What's good: For consumers in countries with weak pesticide regulations, like India, organic food reduces pesticide exposure. Organic ingredients also most likely have slightly higher levels of some vitamins and secondary metabolites.

Organic methods bring certain benefits for farmers, some costs and many unknowns.

What's not-so-good: We still don't know whether organic farms pay higher wages or offer better working conditions than conventional farms. Organic farm workers are most likely exploited in similar ways as those tilling the fields on conventional farms.

In short, we cannot determine yet whether organic agriculture could feed the world and reduce the environmental footprint of agriculture while providing decent jobs and giving consumers affordable, nutritious food.

It's a lot to ask of one industry, and there are still just too many unanswered questions. Some of these questions relate to agriculture, such as whether organic farms can eventually close the yield gap with conventional farms and whether there are enough organic fertilizers to produce all the world's food organically.

But some questions are also about humanity's collective future. Can people in the rich world learn to change our diet and reduce food waste to avoid having to increase food production as the global population grows? And are enough people willing to work in agriculture to meet the needs of labor-intensive organic farms?

A more useful question is whether we should continue to eat organic food and expand investment in organic farming. Here the answer is a definitive yes.

Organic agriculture shows significant promises in many areas. We would be foolish not to consider it an important tool in developing more sustainable global agriculture.

So yes, you should identify and support those organic farms that are doing a great job of producing environmentally friendly, economically viable, and socially just food. Conscientious consumers can also push to improve organic farming where it is not doing so well -- for example on yields and worker rights.

As scientists, we must close some of the critical knowledge gaps about this farming system to better understand its achievements and help address its challenges.

But in the meantime, everyone can learn from successful organic farms and help improve the other 99% of agriculture that's feeding the world today.

Visit link:

Organic farming matters - just not in the way you think - CNN.com - CNN

MINNEAPOLIS Organic cotton textiles register no more than a footnote in the worlds cotton production, but Vishal Naithani wants to change that.

His company, Sustained Organic Living in suburban Minneapolis, selects certified organic cotton grown in India with non-GMO seeds. The products are made using only fair trade labor on the farms and in the factories.

The challenge for Naithani and his company, which is also known as Sol Organics, is to be able to create the level of interest among consumers for organic apparel that has been generated for organic food. For now, his chief weapon is price: He aims to price his products significantly lower than his online competitors and on par with high-quality bedding that is not fair trade organic.

Every family should have access to affordable organic cotton just like they have access to affordable organic food, he said. It shouldnt be only the wealthy who can afford premium products.

Sol Organics is one of a number of companies offering organic, fair trade textiles online or in stores. Companies such as Boll & Branch and Patagonia sell them. West Elm, Pottery Barn, and Target feature organic cotton that may or may not be fair trade. Naithani said Sol Organics is the only Minnesota-based company to do so.

Part of the reason Naithani acts as a maverick is that organic cotton hasnt grabbed the consumers attention like organic milk, produce and poultry.

Shoppers arent ingesting organic cotton as they do organic foods, so they may not see the benefit, said Mary Brett Whitfield, senior vice president at Kantar Retail, a retail consulting business. We havent trained shoppers to think about how cotton is grown or how it fits in the environmental food chain.

Conventionally grown cottons critics say the so-called fabric of our lives is a crop that requires lots of water and chemicals to grow. A pesticide-intensive crop, conventional cotton uses more than an average amount of pesticides, although the amount is in dispute.

Cotton covers 2.5 percent of the worlds cultivated land, yet growers use an estimated 10 to 25 percent of the worlds pesticides, according to Rodale Institute, a Pennsylvania organic farm and researcher. AMIS Global, an agriculture data firm, estimates the pesticide usage for cotton at closer to 5 percent, according to Cotton Inc., a U.S. trade organization.

In India, where more than 20 percent of the worlds cotton is grown, child labor is common. According to a Harris Poll conducted in 2016, three in five consumers would not purchase a cotton product if they knew it was picked by children or forced labor.

Naithani and others in the business believe that, in time, more consumers will search out organic sheets, towels and clothing. Only 5 percent of consumers purchase organic clothing, slightly higher among millennials, according to Kantar Retail.

The average price paid for a queen sheet set in the U.S. is $80, but organic cotton sets (300 thread count sateen) start at $240 at BollandBranch.com and $258 at Coyuchi.com.

At the wholesale level, organic, fair trade cotton costs only about 15 percent more than conventional cotton, Naithani said. He doubles the cost of the goods for his retail price while competitors triple the cost, he said.

The only way to get people to convert to buying organic cotton is to keep prices competitive. Costco and Wal-Mart have made organic food affordable, he said. We want to do the same for organic cotton.

At $119 for a queen set and $139 for a king set at solorganix.com (after a $40 instant savings), his prices are 30 to 50 percent less than comparable products online, but still nearly double what a conventional set costs at Kohls or J.C. Penney.

Naithani hopes to drop the price of his queen-sized set to $99 within two years, once the product reaches critical mass. Affordability is the tipping point, he said. It promotes access, which in turn creates demand and conversion to organic cotton.

Brett Whitfield sees organic cotton as early in its life cycle but poised for growth. Target and Pottery Barn recently expanded their organic textiles selection. Pottery Barns spring collections show fair trade, organic sheets and towels.

Target, which already had organic cotton sheets, clothes and baby items, added organic in its new Cat & Jack kids line. Its recent pledge to remove perfluorinated chemicals and flame retardants from textiles by 2022 shows a long-term commitment.

We know organic cotton is important to our guests, said Erika Winkels, a Target spokeswoman. It will continue to grow in the future, whether its home or apparel. Its not the be-all-end-all, but its important.

Naithani, who also sells his product on Amazon, hopes to break $1 million in annual sheet sales by next month. Thats still a fraction of the online retailer Boll & Branch, which sold about $40 million in organic fair trade sheets and towels in 2016.

Sols products are getting four- and five-star reviews online. His return rate is an enviably low 2.5 percent.

Increasing the demand for organic cotton creates this tremendous upside where everyone wins, the farmer, the consumer and the earth, he said.

Read more:

Can organic cotton become as mainstream as organic food? - Mesabi Daily News

Gluten-free bakery goods, organically grown food and even fresh dog and cat food is catching the publics eye these days and the interest in these products is helping to drive changes at Goodwin and Sons Market in Crestline.

We have been adding organically grown fresh vegetables and fruits to our produce section and the public loves it, said Mike Johnstone, store manager. We started out with just a four-foot section of produce and have expanded that to 12 feet. Weve been expanding our fresh organic line to where we even have a dry rack at the front.

Johnstone said that some of the most popular produce items are organically grown bananas and unique items such as golden beets.

One of his main suppliers is Alberts Organics, the nations leading distributor of quality organically grown fresh produce and perishable items, including meat, dairy, soy products, juices/beverages, and much more.

The golden beets we sell are very popular and have a sweeter taste, he said.

According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, consumer demand for organically produced goods continues to show double-digit growth, providing market incentives for U.S. farmers across a broad range of products.

Organic products are now available in nearly 20,000 natural food stores and nearly three-out-of-four conventional grocery stores. Organic sales account for over 4 percent of total U.S. food sales, according to recent industry statistics.

U.S. sales of organic products were an estimated $28.4 billion in 2012and was projected to reach an estimated $35 billion in 2014. Fresh fruits and vegetables have been the top-selling category of organically grown food since the organic food industry started retailing products over three decades ago, and they are still outselling other food categories, according to the Nutrition Business Journal.

Produce accounted for 43 percent of U.S. organic food sales in 2012, followed by dairy (15 percent), packaged/prepared foods (11 percent), beverages (11 percent), bread/grains (9 percent), snack foods (5 percent), meat/fish/poultry (3 percent), and condiments (3 percent).

Our customers really enjoy the idea of taking home fresh organic produce and our need to keep adding to our produce section shows that, Johnstone said.

Also popular these days are gluten-free baked items and gluten-free baking supplies and products.

We now have a section of the store solely devoted to gluten-free items, and we organized it so that these products would all be in one area to make it easier on our customers, he said.

Goodwins also has brought gluten-free into its bakery.

Our specialty baker, Katharine DeClerck, has been adding a number of items, from breads to cookies, to our lineup, Johnstone said. The gluten-free baked goods have been really popular.

The items complement the stores lineup of fresh-squeezed organic juices from the juice bar, next to the coffee bar.

Johnstone also added that the publics interest in organic food extends to the stores lineup of pet food.

Recently Goodwins added a refrigerated display case featuring fresh pet products from Freshpet, a New Jersey-based company.

Packed with vitamins and proteins, our meals offer fresh meats, poultry and vegetables, farmed locally, according to the company. The Freshpet kitchens then thoughtfully prepare these natural ingredients and everyday essentials. We cook in small batches at lower temperatures to preserve key nutrients. That way, your pet gets the best.

Johnstone said that Goodwins will keep adding organic and gluten-free products to the stores lineup because the demand is there.

Its just amazing, he added.

Link:

Goodwin's Adds Organic, Gluten-Free Items - Mountain News